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Monday, July 29, 2013

Happy Tuesday, everyone! On today's TnT Confidential (the last one of the month of July- wow, time flies!) I have an awesome author sitting under the glare of my bright lamp. Please welcome Shannan Albright and her latest release, paranormal romance Dark Hunter.

Vampire Mari Ankamunan struggles to pick
up the pieces of her life after her bar The Asp becomes a war zone between the
Enforcers and members of the Preservation Society, who want all dark breeds
wiped out. The sudden appearance of the only man she ever loved brings her
world to a crashing halt, for she witnessed his brutal murder two thousand
years ago.

Navar’s spoken oaths to his Sire cost
him Mari. Torn from her side by the sidhe queen, he is her Hunter, delivering
justice for crimes against the breeds. Now freed he returns to his lovers side
only to be caught in a dark plot where Mari is targeted for death.

The stakes are high, can they uncover a
deadly plot against the Enforcers or will Navar lose Mari, forever by an
assassin’s hand?

Welcome to In
A Dream Beyond, Shannan! This is your first time visit and as such, I must
ask the obligatory question:When did you start writing and why?

I started writing when I started drawing. Having
a story for every picture. Pretty soon I started writing without the pictures,
using my art as a way to plot my stories out rather than be the story. I had so
many stories in my head I had to get them out on paper.

What's your favorite part of the writing process?
Least?

My favorite is everything except the first three
chapters. For some reason I end up with three different rewrites before I feel
it’s good enough to continue on.

I’ve noticed that besides the Dark Breed
Enforcers series, you’ve also written The Knights of Excalibur
series and have started a new series called The
Summoning. Do you prefer to write series or stand-alone novels? Why?

Believe me they don’t start out that way lol! It
just seems that the other characters in my books start wanting to have their
own and the plot just goes into a big story arc from the first book. I would
like to do a stand-alone someday soon, it depends on the characters if they let
me get away with it. :-)

The novel you’re showcasing today is called Dark Hunter and it’s a novella that
ties in with the Dark Breed Enforcers series. What can you tell us about this
series? Should we read it in any particular order?

You can pick up either one of the first two books
and be fine. Dark Hunter could be a little confusing since it marks the end of
one story arc and the beginning of another. It heralds in much darker stories
and situations, deepening what I have already built.

In a few words, why will we fall in love with Dark Hunter?

The characters are rich, multi-dimensional, the
story fast paced.

What’s next in the Dark Breed Enforcers series?

Zeke is next. His book is Dark Desire and ushers in a darker evil than they
ever battled before.

Sizzling
summer lightening round…

Sun, Sand and --

Beach or pool?

Give me sun, sand and the beach any day of the
week. I’m there with bells on and frilly drink in hand. Come on by and we can
pick out our cabana boys. *Evil grin*

Bathing suit, bikini or
trikini?

Bathing suit, if it looks young and not like
grandma grunt is in the house. I also like trikini’s.

Tanned or lobster red?

I have to watch how
long I stay outside, not because I get red, I get too dark. I even tan in the
shade. Yikes! All you see is my teeth at night if I really sun bathe. Lol!

A favorite summer read:

Anything paranormal
with great plot, action and characters.

Popsicle or ice cream? What
flavor?

Popsicle. My favorite
is what we call in California a Big Stick, (no snickering) its pineapple and
cherry and so yummy. Dang now I’m craving one.

Singing in the shower or in
the rain?

I would rather sing in the rain if it’s a warm summer rain. Love the old
MGM dancers like Gene Kelly and used to fantasize about dancing and singing in
the rain with him. Of course I also fantasize I have a singing voice and don’t
sound like a dying walrus. :-)

Thank you so very much for having me on your blog today.

Growing up she was the dreamer in her
family, something not always thought of as a positive thing. As a child she
would draw and build stories around her pictures, so writing was a natural
extension for her. Recently a family member told her that from now on she would
encourage those dreamers she knew. Stating with hard work and focus dreams can
come true. Shannan Albright is proof that dreaming can be a positive thing.

When not writing she spends her time
between oil painting and reading. She loves writing paranormal, urban fantasy,
historical and fantasy romances because of the world building and rich
characters she finds. She loves dark, edgy heroes and heroines overcoming
impossible odds internal and external.

She is a "hopeful" Romantic
who believes a healthy relationship built on respect and a strong partnership
is the key to a happy ever after.

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Hi everyone! I'm running late today but I'm here and I have a great author with me! Iyana Jenna is in the spotlight and she brings her latest release, m/m romance Release Me.

Taking
a break from dealing with his father’s clients on legal matters, Nicholas
Haynes went out to the sea on his yacht—only to find a man floating in the
water. The man was still alive, much to Nicholas’s relief.

Gregory
Phillips was a private investigator and his last job almost turned him into
fish food if not for Nicholas. Little did he know that the main suspect in his
case was one of Nicholas’ father’s clients. When Nicholas insisted on taking
care of Gregory after the incident that almost killed him, can he trust
Nicholas enough with his life?

Welcome to In A Dream Beyond, Iyana! You've
visited before but this is your first interview with me, therefore I must ask:

When did you start writing and why?

First off, thank you for the
opportunity to visit again and for the interview, Elyzabeth. And again please
forgive my senility. :)

To answer your questions, I
started ‘really’ writing around 2002 because what I was looking to read was not
available out there. So I wrote it myself.

What's your favorite part of the writing process?
Least?

This is not too easy to
answer. I like starting a story and I also like the time when I get so immersed
in my story that I can go anywhere and do anything but still thinking about the
next scenes I’m going to write. It’d be like a daydream and I will be daydreaming
all day. The least favorite part will be finishing a story. It’s always quite
difficult for me to finish it. It’s like dragging or something. I think I’m the
type who likes to start doing things but not finish them. :)

You've written YA novels and Erotic romance, what
differences and what similarities (if any) do you find between these genres?

YA books will be less
explicit, I think, and even sweeter although my adult ones are also sweet. I
also find YA lovely to write because with the characters still being so young,
they are still searching for identity, wondering if what they have is right or
wrong. With adult stories, the characters are less doubtful about themselves,
at least in my stories. There are a lot of similarities. They are all romance
stories that tell love tales between the characters. It’s just the way they
express the love that is different.
Let's talk about your recent release titled Release
Me, where did your inspiration for this novel stem from?

I love watching movies and
from them I often get ideas for my stories. It’s the same with this book. I
guess I just watched a certain movie that made my story have a mixture of mafia
story, thriller, murder, and love.

What's your favorite scene from this novel and why?

I mostly loved the time when
Nicholas first ‘met’ Gregory, i.e. when he hauled Greg out of the sea. :)

In three to five words, why will we fall in love
with the main characters of Release Me?

“God! Did I hurt you?”

Now, how about a quickie?

Favorite time of day- after midnight

Coffee or Tea – coffee

Sweet or spicy- spicy

Beach, woods or city- woods

Left or right-all

Top or bottom– N/A

Best song to make love to – Brown Eyed Girl

A personal anecdote…

I don’t know if it’s an anecdote or not. But because
of these writing and publishing things I mostly devote my time and energy to, I
kind of lose interest in anything to do with teaching. There will be an
international teaching conference being held in my university next month and
while people are either involved as committee members or presenters and
participants, I stay away from it as far as I can. Every time a friend asked me
if I was going to attend or not, I’d say I wasn’t interested. I’m still not.
But on Monday this week, my boss suddenly came to me. She said because of an
event that’s going to happen at the same time with the conference, our director
will not be able to go there and they’ve decided that I will go. Well… To
attend only, perhaps that’s okay. But then I found out that I’m also going to
present something there on behalf of our director. Excuse
me??

Hmm, I guess that’s not an anecdote. It’s more like a
satire. :D

How about an excerpt?

Stanley Haynes threw the newspaper, and
it landed with a slap on Nicholas's plate. The headlines blared at Nicholas as
though his father had shouted at him.

Heir to US Banking Chain Wedded?

"You ever plan to tell us about
this, Nicholas?"

Nicholas glanced briefly at his mother
sitting across from him, but she kept stirring the cooling coffee in her cup.
Nicholas could see a smile flicker in her eyes. He shrugged.

“Come on, Dad. You know it was
impossible for me to talk about it before everything was done.”

“Are you saying you don’t trust me, or
your mom—” Stanley threw a glance at his wife, and his eyes widened. “You knew about this?”

She threw her hands up.

“God, no, honey. I wouldn’t lie to you.”

“All right, all right.” Stanley took a
deep breath, trying to calm himself. “Is it that Phillips guy?”

“Of course. Who else?” Nicholas grinned.

His mother went back to stirring her
coffee. Her voice was calm when she asked, “When was it, Nicholas? How come
both of us didn’t know anything about it?”

“A moment after Greg was released from
the hospital.”

“Wow. That fast?”

Nicholas chuckled. “Yeah. Now you can’t
accuse me of being a playboy anymore.”

“That’s good, dear.” His mother took his
hand, and Nicholas squeezed hers gently. “So those journalists—they just found
out the other day?”

“They’ve just seen this ring, that’s
all.” Nicholas lifted his left hand and eyed the simple platinum band around his
ring finger.Gregory had exactly the
same kind of ring around his finger.

****

A
month earlier

It was the lulling sounds of the waves
and the gentle breeze above the vast, boundless ocean that Nicholas loved most.
He could spend days, even weeks, drifting seemingly without any course and
purpose on his boat, all by himself. After months dealing with his father’s
clients about legal matters, he was always desperate for some time alone.
Sometimes he just couldn’t understand why he had to work twice as hard as the
other employees in his father’s bank when he was his only son. However, most of
the time, he just couldn’t see it any other way. His father was not the type to
want to spoil his family. Everyone had to earn what life had given to them.
Nobody was allowed to simply ask and receive.

Iyana lives in Jakarta, a city famous
for its traffic jams, a lot of cars and motorcycles, and people selling stuff
on the roads. You can spend two hours on the road going to a place you can
reach in half an hour in a normal situation. Thanks to the traffic jams,
though, Iyana can come up with a lot of stories, mostly shorties, as she
prefers to spend the time during her trips writing into her cell phone rather
than sleeping.

Iyana loves kitties. Right now she has
five of them. Their names are Larva, Nyil, Cil, Mermood, and Horus. When she
doesn’t write, she plays with them, or they would play with her when she
writes.

Iyana loves teaching. She teaches
English and her students range from elementary school kids to college students
to employees. She enjoys working with them all. Teaching is so much fun for
her.

Monday, July 22, 2013

Hello, hello and welcome to TnT Confidential. No, you're not seeing an old post, double or triple, I do have author Tamsin Baker here with me again! Healed Hearts, Book 3 in the Third Bite series just came out and I just had to ask her over. Read on to find out more about this very hot read (it's classified as an orgy! *g*)

Lucas and Thomas believed themselves
unusually blessed to have found their third mate within only three hundred
years of being a vampire. Unfortunately, once they turned Piers, that empty,
lonely feeling is still there, within all of them.

Ten years of strained relations lead them
to a ball where an old friend helps them track down a woman they have all
dreamt of.

Maryanne has been thrown out of London in
punishment for allowing her fiancée into her bed. She is travelling to meet her
new horrid husband-to-be, when she is
accosted by three male vampires, all claiming to want to love her.

What is a shamed lady meant to do? Her
duty? To marry the horrible old lord, or risk loving three men who are the answer
to her prayers?

Welcome Tamsin! One of the
things readers have to be aware of in Healed
Hearts are orgies! Tamsin, you naughty girl, what were you thinking when
you came up with this part of the series?

LOL!!! I
laughed so hard when I saw that as listed on Evernight’s page! Well… I wanted
my vampire ménage trilogy to have different pairings in each story. The first
one was MMF, second was MMM, and I have to have MM in my ménages- can’t write
it without it, so the answer was to add an F to the MMM and enjoy writing a MMMF!!!

What was
your greatest challenge while working on Healed
Hearts?

Definitely
the sex scenes, four people… all into each other… hmmm.

What’s your
favorite part of this novel?

Actually a
very short little bit when Thomas comes in and tries to convince Maryanne that
they want her. It’s so sweet.

If you had
to pick one of the characters as your lover, who’d it be and why?

Lol… not
sure my hubby would like that question, but probably Lucas, he’s the oldest,
the biggest and the most dominant.

Does Healed Hearts put an end to the Third
Bite series? Yes… :)

What can
readers expect from you next?

I have my first shifter book coming out of the 31st
of July with Evernight Publishing. MMF. The first of a series called: ‘The
shifters of the land, air and sea.’

She was not a light woman, she knew
that, but these men handled her like she weighed no more than a feather. It was
disconcerting.

She looked up. Piers had her now.

“We will never let you go back to
him.”

He held her tighter, and Maryanne
felt the barely restrained violence in him. Why had Lucas surrendered her to
Piers?

A hand brushed her hair, and she
turned to face Thomas.

“And we will not make you do
anything you do not want to do. If you do not wish to make love to us then we
won’t ask it of you. Or if you would prefer just one of us? We do not mind. But
we need you, Lady Maryanne. Don’t you feel it?”

Thomas laid his hand on her
shoulder, and Lucas moved closer and reached out for her hand.

A shock went through her like
nothing she had ever felt. A burning, a settling, a strength. Also a hunger,
for all three of them. It shocked her to want all three of them, but it felt so
right that she didn’t dare question it.

She was ruined anyway, and she was
now running away from the life she had been damned to. Why would she say no to
them?

“I don’t want to say no, Thomas and
please call me Maryanne. We do not need such formality. But I don’t know how or
what to do with three of you…” She trailed off, fear getting the upper hand.

Could she satisfy three men? How
would they all make love to her?

The men exchanged glances, and she
found herself on her feet, her gown being stripped off.

Before she blinked she was naked,
and she gasped, horrified. No one had ever seen her naked before. Her arms flew
up to her breasts, and then she realised she needed to cover her other bits.
She didn’t have enough hands.

Her cheeks burned with blood, her
mortification complete as the men stared at her for long moments. Their eyes
all roamed every curve and bump of her over-fleshy body, and she wanted to dive
under a blanket to cover herself.

Before she could even move an inch
there was a flurry of clothes, and they were all naked also, standing proudly in
front of her.

Maryanne gasped again, too shocked
now to care about her own nakedness. They were magnificent. All three
different, but still beautiful.

Tamsin
Baker is an Aussie girl who only found erotic romance about ten months
ago. Before that she read sexy romance, skipping the plot looking for
the ‘good bits.’ Since then she have written and obtained 14 contracts
of varying lengths with erotic romance and erotica. She absolutely LOVES
reading and writing it! She have two other jobs, kids and a hubby too,
but writing is a passion that she has to indulge, for fear of insanity.M/M
is a passion of hers so even in her menage stories, there is always
M/M. Female domme is a fun one to write too, but she is open to all
genres. One step at a time she is learning to read more and write more.
Soon she’ll have stories published in every sub genre of erotic romance –
or that is her aim anyway.

Alpha's Claim Anthology

The Crimson Rope Anthology

Spanish Diversion

Sinsperationally Yours Anthology

Welcome Aboard

A Decade of Longing

The Mercenary Tales

The Mercenary Knight

The Mercenary Slave (Book 2 of The Mercenary Tales)

The Lost Mercenary (Book 3 of The Mercenary Tales)

Wednesday Briefs

Your Hump Day Free Read

Nanowrimo

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